Wednesday 10 July 2013 07.48 EDT
First published on Wednesday 10 July 2013 07.48 EDT

Emailing, instant messaging and texting have long replaced phone calls as a quick way to get information. The idea of phoning someone to get information seems somewhat superfluous unless you need the information instantly - and even then, an email will often suffice.

The Prism scandal, however, raised great concerns about the privacy of information and a co-founder of Pirate Bay, Peter Sunde, has a solution – a messaging service that encrypts information on both ends. This means that not only can the app owners not access the information but neither can ISPs or other external agencies such as the government.

Heml.is looks to provide users with an accessible app that protects their information.

The app, called Hemlis, the Swedish word for "secret", will be free to download but users will be able to pay extra for more features such as sending images. The base product will simply allow users to send text messages.

Hemlis will be a crowdfunded project and it has so far raised 29% of its desired goal, $100,000. Depending on the level of funding that you provide, you will receive a higher number of unlock codes for the app as well as being able to pre-register user names before the app is released.

Initial designs show the app will take after iOS 7's interface as well as taking some inspiration from Any.do and the focus is on creating a secure, and very accessible, app. When released, Hemlis will be available on both Android and iOS devices and will very specifically not have any advertising.

"Companies like Facebook, Twitter, Apple and Google have been forced to open up their systems and hand out information about their users. At the same time they have been forbidden to tell anyone about it!

"We're building a message app where no one can listen in, not even us. We would rather close down the service before letting anyone in."

Considering the plethora of messaging apps currently available, such as Whatsapp, MessageMe and Text+, it will be interesting to see the development of Hemlis.